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“When I look back on my first year as a parent,” Keith Dixon writes in the introduction to his memoir of the first year of his first-born child, Cooking for Gracie: The Making of a Parent from Scratch, “everything seems to tie in to cooking for Gracie.”

The book is full of family-friendly recipes as well as some for the more enthusiastic home cook, the kind of cook Dixon, an editor for The New York Times and a novelist, was before Gracie was born. But it is more than that. It is a beautifully written chronicle of the first year in the life of a father — one who, like every new parent, has had life turned on its ear — and a new family.

“The problem would appear to be that life no longer moves according to my schedule. If you’re a writer or a cook, timing is crucial; if you happen to be both, as I am, you’re finished without it.

“I used to have it, this timing, in the kitchen and on the page, but now it’s gone. I’m a beat behind in everything I do — I go around half the time feeling like an actor who belongs in a drama and finds himself instead in a comedy, where the jokes are all at his expense.”

There’s more, of course. So read the book. Meanwhile, here are a couple of super-simple recipes from it.

Ginger-Scallion Rice with Fried Egg

Serves 2

Make this recipe even when you’re not pressed for time, Dixon urges. “This makes a great breakfast for two. Or lunch. Or dinner. Or snack. You get the idea.”

Combine the green onion, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a bowl and mix well. Allow to rest at room temperature.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in large frying pan over high heat until shimmering. Add the rice and stir-fry until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Add the green onion-ginger sauce and stir-fry an additional minute, then pour the rice onto a serving plate.

Place a small non-stick frying pan over high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil shimmers, gently add the egg. When the bottom of the egg has set, gently tilt the pan and use a spoon to baste the top of the egg with the hot oil, until the yolk is partially cooked, about 30 to 60 seconds more. Test the yolk gently with your thumb: it should be just slightly firm. Slide the egg onto the rice and serve immediately.

At the table, break the yolk with chopsticks and stir into the rice.

Lemon Chicken Wings with Chili and Mint

Serves 2

Dixon writes when he was cooking for himself, pre-baby, he used to make “the most complicated recipes imaginable. Now that I know better, this is the kind of food I make when I’m cooking for myself — a recipe so simple it practically takes care of itself, with the action taking place in a single roasting pan.”

21/2 pounds chicken wings, wing tips sliced off and discarded

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic

zest and juice of half a lemon

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2 cup whole-milk yogurt

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the wings in a large bowl. Place remaining ingredients in a food processor and purée. Pour purée over chicken, combine well, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. When ready to cook, place a roasting rack on a baking sheet with raised sides (or lay stalks of celery down in parallel rows in place of the rack), shake extra marinade off the chicken and lay the chicken pieces on the rack in a 400 F oven, leaving a little space between each. Use 2 baking sheets, if needed.

Family-friendly recipes: Everything changed when baby Gracie arrived

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